Oladipo Dada is the General Manager of Ikeja City Mall, Lagos State. He tells how hoodlums stormed the facility, vandalised and looted property belonging to business owners on October 21, less than 24 hours after the alleged shooting by the military at the Lekki Toll Gate where unarmed youths gathered for #EndSARS protest against police brutality and bad governance in the country

How did you learn about the attack on your facility?

It was on Wednesday (October 21, 2020) that the rioting started, though the mall had been closed because of the curfew announced by the state government. Before we left, we made sure that we got in touch with the police station close to us and we also tried as much as possible to get across to the commander of the Rapid Response Squad. Based on the relationship we have had in the past, if there is going to be any protest, we usually get across to the security forces close to us, though we have some policemen in the mall also. So, on that Wednesday, according to the police on the ground, there was no activity in the mall because of the curfew. Then the hoodlums came in through the gate; they broke down the gate and ran inside.

Because Casper and Gambini’s (a restaurant at the mall) was the first store from that end – the main entrance to the premises – that was where they first attacked. They smashed the glass windows. At a point, they came towards the main door and tried to break in but they couldn’t because it was chained. So, they left that side. But one of the hoodlums just returned and focused mainly on the entrance. I think after three attempts, he was able to break the door and shatter the glass. I think about three of them (hoodlums) went into the area where all the wines were kept and grabbed about three bottles each. At that point, they had some other guys outside giving them information as to whether the police were coming or not. It was at that point they started hearing gunshots from the police. So, it was at that point that they ran and, I think, regrouped and came back. But when they met resistance, they had to leave.

What other things were vandalised?

We had some vehicles that were packed in the mall. They broke all the windscreens and windows. Also, they shattered the windows of our Entrance One pay area, the ticketing booth.

Who were the owners of the cars vandalised?

They were private cars. I think one of the vehicles, a bus, belongs to a private company. The owners of the personal vehicles have come to retrieve them.

Do you think the people who attacked the mall were protesters?

No. These were not protesters. It was a peaceful protest. Hoodlums attacked the mall.

You painted a picture of how the attack happened. Were you around when it happened?

CCTV cameras cover the mall area. So, we just had to replay the videos and see how the incident happened.

Apart from the bottles of wine stolen, was any other valuable item carted away?

No. But if not for the police presence, they (hoodlums) would have tried to gain entry into the mall and loot stores. But they were prevented from doing that.

Can you quantify how much you lost to the attack?

We are still trying to compute the figures. But like I said, most of the damage was limited to the glass windows. We have tried to get in touch with our service provider to give us an estimate of what has been damaged.

Has the attack affected your operations?

It has not really affected our operations because the curfew was relaxed on Friday evening (October 23, 2020) and on Saturday morning, we opened the mall. On that day, quite a number of shoppers came into the mall to buy things.

Do you and your members of staff feel safe opening for business?

Yes, we are safe.

Were any of your employees injured during the attack?

Nobody was injured. There was a curfew, so everybody was off the premises.

The state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, recently visited some of the areas vandalised and looted by the hoodlums. Was yours one of those assessed?

There hasn’t been any visitation or condolence visit but then the damage is minimal. It’s not that pronounced because of the security measures and architecture we had in place. (Saturday Punch)

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